1.
audience seating, seats (in a theater, stadium, etc.)
The area where the audience or spectators sit in a theater, concert hall, stadium, or other venue.
客席が満員だった。
The seats were full.
客席から大きな拍手が起こった。
Loud applause arose from the audience.
コンサートの客席は千人以上収容できる。
The concert venue can seat over a thousand people.
2.
passenger seat, guest seating area
Seating designated for passengers or guests, such as in a restaurant or on an airplane.
客席にご案内します。
I'll show you to your seat.
この飛行機の客席は二百席ある。
This airplane has two hundred passenger seats.
レストランの客席を増やすために、テラスを改装した。
They renovated the terrace to increase the restaurant's seating.
USAGE:
Sense 1 is especially common in theater and concert contexts. In performance reviews, 客席 often appears metonymically for the audience itself: 客席が沸いた (the audience erupted). Sense 2 appears in restaurant, transportation, and hospitality contexts.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 客席が満員: full house, packed audience
- 客席から拍手: applause from the audience
- 客席数: number of seats, seating capacity
- 客席にご案内する: to show to one's seat